Vertical blade attachment for elevating graders



Aug. 29, 1944. Y B. v. REANY V VERTICAL BLADE ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVA'I'ING GRADERS Filed Sept.'2l 1942 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 26 0 I.I liI I l .10 !i a, J0, .22

22 24 v grwa/wfom Burfi? 1 Really fizfi Aug. 29, 1944. B. v. RVEANY 2,356,797

VERTICAL BLADE ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVA'IING GRADERS Filed Sept. 21, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Barney V. Reany Patented Aug. 29, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VERTICAL BLADE ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATING GRADERS (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as 1 amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) i The invention described herein may be manu factured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates. to road building and dam construction machines and more particularly to that type known as elevating graders.

An elevating grader is a machine which is pulled by a. tractor and which has a vertical cutting disc, generally about two 'feet in diameter, which cuts a furrow in the earth as the machine is pulled by the tractor. The disc can take a maximum cut of about eighteen inches and is placed so as to push the dirt removed onto a conveyor which elevates the dirt and drops it into trucks which keep pace with the grader.

In constructing highway fills and compacted earth fill dams, a mixture of several materials such as clay, silt and sand are required in specified proportions in order to make the fill impervious. The

intermediate arched portion 1'00.

different materials entering into the mix must be in the proper proportions and thoroughly mixed as are the ingredients in concrete. The various types of soil, which enter into the mix used in the impervious sections of road grades and compacted earth fill' dams, are found'in stratified layers from one-half to five feet in thickness. The ordinary grader can only'load one type of {material at atime. 1 V

In locating the proper materials foruse in the impervious section of the fill, borings are made in the proposed borrow pits to obtain samples of the material at various depths. then analyzed and the depth of cut required to give the correct proportion of thevarious materials entering into the mix is determined;

- The primary object of the present invention is to provide a vertical cutter which will take a 'cut the full depth of the pit, as predetermined, so as to have the correct percentage of each material These samples are Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the right front of the attachment;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the attachment;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of'the attachment along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a view of my device in operation.

Reference being had to Fig.1 of the drawings, in will be seen that there has'been provided'an arched plow beam I0 including longitudinally alined toe and heel portions Illa and 10b and an The extreme forward end of the toe portion lllaiis tapered to a blunt point and provided with a buffer I2. Likewise, to the extreme end of the toe portion Illa is afiixed a'pulley l4 adaptedto receive cable l6, one end of which is attached to a fixed bracket 18 and the other to a winding drum 20 keyed to shaft 23 from the power plant. Similarly, a bracket I9 is. provided to engage one end of cable I! which is adapted to pass through pulley l5 attached-tothei heel portion [01) of the plow beam and to engage the drum 2| on shaft23, as clearly shown in Fig.1 of the. drawmgsk, on

A blade supporting section of angle iron issupported in a position entering into the mix and to have these material's well mixed before loading so that stratification does not occur in the fill. The mixing occur as thematerial is sliced from theface of the pit and falls along the Vertical blade to the ground where it is then picked up and forced onto the revolving adjacent to the trailing edge of thearch portion lllc of the plow beam l0 andis slightly inclined from the plane of the side of the plow beam, by means of the supporting arms 32, 33 and 34.; The supportingarms are slottedatone end to receive one side of the angl eiron mast 3ll and shaped to engage the side and the top respectively of the trailing end of the heel portion lOb of plow beam l0. Theloweredge of the heelportion' lllb of. the plow beam carries a circular cutting disc 36. This disc is similar to those now in general practice and requires no further description A stiffener bar 35'has one end attached to the forward extremity of thetoe portion Ind and its opposite end aflixed to the beam [0 andthe upper end of the mast 30. L I, V 1 In order to insure the removed material fall'- ing onto the conveyor 38" or iri'position-to be scooped up by'the disc 36, vguide'vanes are pro-J vided. Vane 40 is attached to the rear of the archof the plow beam and extends on either side thereof. On the cutting side theivane illlis shaped to contact throughout its length themast 30, While on the dirt removal side'it extends a suflicient distance to assure the retaining of thejremovedmaterial by theconv'eyor. ;Arranged in the same plane as vane 40 is a -vane' lz 'whichextends around and above'the plow beamlIl'arranged to contact the 'mast 30 throughout the remainder mast 3D,:consisting of a of its length. The vane 42 is also arranged to extend past the upper end of the mast 3!]. Near the upper end of the mast 30 and extending at right angles to the vane 42 may be placed a vane 44 to protect the operator from falling particles. The vanes '42 and are braced by a spacing member 46. On the opposite side of the arch and flush therewith is a vane 48 extending on the removal side a distance corresponding to that of the vane 40. If desired, a vane 50 may be attached over the arch in a position corresponding to the vane 42. To secure it at its upper end, it is attached to the stiffener bar 35..

To provide a cutting edge, grader blades 52 are bolted to an arm of the mast 30. These blades are attached in suificient number and of sufiicient size to accommodate the depth of out which it is desired to take. I v

The method of securing the attachment to the tractor will be clear from a consideration of Figs. 2 and 3. It will be seen that there is provided at the rear end of the plow beam 10 an adjustable spacing arm 22 pivotedto thebeam by the bearing bracket 26 and to the frame of the tractor by bearing bracket 21. Near the forward edge of the arch of the plow beam is provided a second adjustable spacing arm 24 pivoted to the beam by means of bearing bracket 28 and to the frame of the tractor by bearing bracket 29. A third adjustable spacing arm 25 is attached at one end to a bearing bracket 23 near the top of the mast 30 and at the other end to the frame of the tractor. v

The operation of my device will be clear from a consideration of Fig. 4. Suitable test borings having been made to determine the proper depth of cut to obtain the desired. mixtures, the device is attached to the tractor. with a sufiicient number of cutting blades 52 to take a cut varying in depth from eight to fifteen feet and from one-half inch to six inches in thickness. In this connection it is to benoted that variations in the dimensions of the out are obtained by Varying the length of the spacing arm-25 whereby the plow beam may be tilted through an angle sufiicient to provide a cut of the desired thickness. The tractor is driven into the borrow pit around the edge to be removed. The material cut away by the blades falls between the guide vane s and is directed onto the conveyor 38. The fall of the material will aid in its thoroughmixing. The mixed material is then removed by suitable trucks to its point of use. Should additional power be needed to draw the grader or to overcome the turning effect produced by the resistance of the bank to the cutters, an additional tractor may be used.

It will be seen that I have provided a machine which can take a cut varying in depth from eight to fifteen feet and in thickness from one-half of an inch to six inches. By this construction, a truck may be loaded while the machine is traveling any distance from twenty to two hundred fifty feet in the borrow pit. If the tests made on the material of the borrow pit show that the correct proportions of materials can be obtained while the machine is traveling a distance of twenty feet, a heavy cut is taken. Onth other hand, if the tests show that in another portion of the pit material is required from a one hundred fifty foot section in order to obtain the correct proportions, a lighter cut is taken. In this manner the correct proportion of materials entering into the required no further mixing or processing is required before placing in the fill. Due to the increased speed in loading and to the fact that no separate mixing operation is required, a large saving is effected and better results are obtained as the correct proportions of mix are maintained at all times.

While I have described my invention with reference to a single embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the particular details and assemblies described, since obvious modifications within the spirit of the invention will suggest themselves to one skilled in the art. I I,

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor mounted upon and supported transversely of said frame, a ground cutting element located adjacent the mouth of the conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, a supplementary cutting element disposed in avertical plane above said ground cutting element, said ground :and supplementary cutting elements being attached to saidframe for movement about a horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the. longitudinal axis of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower end of said supplementary cutting element, and means in connection with the upper end of said supple-. mentary cutting element foreffectingadjus tment of said ground and supplementary cutting elements about said horizontalaxis of rotation" to. produce a cut of predetermined thickness.

2. In a grader or like implement, the tion of a Wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor; mounted upon and supported transversely of said frame, a disk cutter located adjacent the rnouth of the conveyor and being adapted to defiect dirt onto said conveyor, a straight-edge cutter disposed above said disk cutter in avertical plane and constituting acontinuation of the peripheral plane of said disk cutter, said cutter blades being mounted for'movementabouta horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the longitudinal axis produ t of r e m nedthi ness;

mi is a e a a l. im s.a as the .'i91

materials are well mixed at the time of loading,

of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower end of said straight-edge cutterblade, andmeansin connection with the upper end of said cutter blade for effecting its adjustment about said hori: zontal axis whereby to produce a cut of predetermined thickness...

3. In a grader or like implement, the combiiga: tion of a wheeled vehicle frame, 'a; conveyqricar; ried by and supported transversely pf said frame, a rotary d u te lb et d ad c t t e mouth of the conveyor and being a'daptedto deflect dirt onto said conveyor, astr'aight-edge cuttenblade situated above said disk cutter andin a vertical planesubstantially coextensive with the periph; eral plane of said disk cutter,said disk -cutter and cutter blade being attached to said framefor adjustment about a horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the longitudinal axis of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower edge cutter blade, a vane extending from s blade and constituting a rearward thereof for directing cutawaymate mouth of said conveyor, and rne ans tion with the upper en Q said c ter hliier effecting adjustment of said disk cutter and cutter la about aid. h zontalexi Q'frQ a QnJ n a gr der. r. lik mp em t Phen m na t o a w e e ve i l f ame-a eon ey rgarr ried by and supported transversely of said frame, a disk cutter located adjacent the mouth of the conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, a mast disposed substantially vertically above said disk cutter, a straight-edge cutter blade attached to said mast, a vane contacting said cutter blade and forming a rearward extension thereof, the width of said vane being such as to direct cutaway material into the conveyor, means for supporting said mast and disk cutter, said means being swivelly attached to one side of the frame for movement about a horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the longitudinal axis of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower end of said mast, and additional means in connection with the upper end of said mast to effect adjustment of said mast and cutter supporting means about said horizontal axis of rotation whereby to cause said cutter blade to produce a cut of predetermined thickness.

5. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor carried by and supported transversely of said frame, a ground cutting element located adjacent the mouth of the conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, a substantially vertical mast disposed above said ground cutting element, means for supporting said mast and ground cutting element, said means being mounted for adjustment about a horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the longitudinal axis of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower end of said mast, a plurality of cutter blades arranged in end to end relation and attached to said mast, said cutter blades being provided with rearwardly extending vanes adapted to direct the cutaway material onto the conveyor, and means in connection with the upper end of said mast for effecting its adjustment about said horizontal axis of rotation to regulate the thickness of the cut of said cutter blades.

6. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor carried by said frame and supported transversely thereof, a disk cutter disposed adjacent the mouth of the conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, a substantially vertical mast disposed above said disk cutter, means for supporting said mast and disk cutter, said means being attached to said frame for adjustment about a horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the longitudinal axis of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower end of said mast, a plurality of straightedge cutting blades arranged in end to end relation and attached to said mast, said cutting blades being provided with rearwardly extending vanes located in the same plane and forming a rearward extension of said cutting blades for deflecting dirt onto said conveyor, a protective vane attached to the upper end of said mast and extending in a plane normal to that of said firstmentioned vanes, and means in connection with the upper end of said mast for effecting adjustment of said first-mentioned means about said horizontal axis of rotation to produce a cut of predetermined thickness.

'7. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor carried by and supported transversely of said frame, a disk cutter located adjacent the mouth of said conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto saidconveyor, a straight-edge cutter blade disposed substantially vertically above said disk cutter, said disk cutter and straight-edge cutter blade being attached to said frame and mounted for adjustment vertically and about a horizontal axis of rotation paralleling the longitudinal axis of said frame and disposed adjacent the lower end of said cutter blade, dirt deflecting means extending rearwardly from said cutter blade for directing cutaway material onto said conveyor, and means in connection with said disk cutter and cutter blade for effecting their adjustment vertically and about said horizontal axis of rotation to produce a cut of predetermined thickness.

8. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor carried by and supported transversely of said frame, a ground cutting element located adjacent to the mouth of said conveyor and arranged to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, a supplementary cutting element disposed substantially vertically above said ground cutting element, a plow beam supporting said cutting elements, said plow beam including toe and heel portions and being mounted for movement vertically and about a horizontal axis of rotation adjacent to and parallel with the longitudinal axis of said toe and heel portions of said beam, and means in connection with said plow beam and the upper end of said supplementary cutting element for adjusting said plow beam vertically and about said horizontal axis of rotation to produce a cut of predetermined thickness.

9. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor carried by and supported transversely of said frame, a disk cutter located adjacent the mouth of the conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, 3, mast disposed substantially vertically above said disk cutter, a straight-edge cutter blade attached to said mast and provided with a rearwardly extending Vane adapted to direct cutaway material into the conveyor, a plow beam supporting said mast, cutter blade and vane, said beam including toe and heel portions and being mounted for movement vertically and about a horizontal axis of rotation adjacent to and parallel with the longitudinal axis of said toe and heel portions, and means in connection with said plow beam and the upper end of said mast for adjusting said plow beam vertically and about said horizontal axis of rotation to produce a cut of predetermined thickness.

10. In a grader or like implement, the combination of a wheeled vehicle frame, a conveyor mounted on and supported transversely of said frame, a disk cutter located adjacent the mouth of the conveyor and being adapted to deflect dirt onto said conveyor, a mast disposed substantially vertically above said disk cutter, a straight-edge cutter blade attached to said mast and provided with a rearwardly extending vane and adapted to deflect dirt into said conveyor, a plow beam supporting said mast, cutter blade and vane, said beam including toe and heel portions and being attached to said frame and mounted for movement vertically and about a horizontal axis .of rotation adjacent to and parallel with the longitudinal axis of said toe and heel portions, means in connection with said toe and heel portions of said beam for imparting vertical movement to said beam, and additional means in connection with the upper end of said mast for adjusting said plow beam about said horizontal axis of rotation to product a cut of predetermined thickness.

BURNEY. V. REANY. 

